As we’ve been taking walks through the parks and beaches of Southern California, different garden centers and nurseries such as Roger’s and Armstrong’s, I’ve been trying to catalog numerous flowers and plants that I might want to remember for future reference.

After writing about the incredible Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, I thought it was only fair to point out that Aaron and I also enjoy a place called Armstrong’s Garden Center in Newport Beach. The business can trace its roots to 1889 and holds a storied place in the history of the global rose industry (and you know we love our roses!). A few months ago, we stopped in and spotted a Monarch Butterfly hanging out on some flowers. We took a video …

In Corona del Mar, California there is a place called Roger’s Gardens. It is one of the coolest businesses I’ve ever seen and within moments of walking through the entrance, Aaron and I knew it was going to be somewhere we spent a lot of time.

Here’s What Happened While I Was Away … With so much of my time spent away from the site in the past 4-6 weeks, I thought I’d give a “here’s roughly what’s been going on” round-up. I had intended for a lot of this to turn into their own stand-alone posts but this will be faster.…

The older I get, the more amazed at I am at the power of compounding in all areas of life. Compounding is one of the most powerful forces at work in the universe. It exerts itself in all sorts of arenas, ranging from finance to farming. To illustrate: As I sit in my home study, publishing a few…

After viewing the fields of Ojai yesterday, we decided to go to Pasadena today, with a quick detour to La Cañada Flintridge. A big thank you to A Patel, who suggested in the comments on the post about Montecito that we stop by The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens. This place is wonderful! I knew next…

I was so excited to hear Ben’s update into the world of plant growing a few days ago, that I had botany on my mind today. Here we are, at the end of the first growing season. Back on April 21st, I wrote about our jump into gardening. We were in the first stages of…

I haven’t posted much about what is going on in the garden since back in May, when the Cherry Parfait Roses began to bloom. You saw the beginning of the Fuschia plant cycle, and they have really become something remarkable. They now attract hummingbirds regularly to the house, and it’s wonderful having them around all…

Our cherry parfait roses are coming in more pink and white, with a hint of cream, rather than a stark red with blinding white. It could be the particular genetic makeup of this individual cherry parfait rose bush, or it could be temperature and sunlight dependent as some roses will bloom differently depending upon the…

They are growing! It’s working! The pink rose bush released a flush of roses today after only having one or two flowers, which I had cut for my desk. It’s gotten much bigger than it was only a week ago. I wasn’t sure if it would work in the spot because it isn’t getting as…

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION: This is a personal blog intended for academic, educational, and social engagement among members of a like-minded community. Nothing on this site is intended or should be construed as investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, or legal advice. You are solely responsible for your own financial decisions, agree that you will seek the advice of your own qualified professional advisors, agree that you, and you alone, are solely responsible for any financial consequences or losses as a result of your actions, and use of the site constitutes your agreement that you will not rely upon any information found on the site, including the comments. All text, images, and resources are provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantee of accuracy and with no obligation to update or correct information. For more information, read the terms and conditions. Copyright Joshua Kennon. All Rights Reserved.